Have you taken the plunge and changed roles recently? Whether you’ve climbed the ladder to a new position within your organization or made the jump to a new career or company, the less time it takes to transition and find your footing in this new role, the greater your chances not only at success but also at making a profound impact in the company.
According to the Harvard Business Review, “the people who are the most productive, innovative, and engaged in new roles—the ‘fast movers’—are those who establish extremely broad, mutually beneficial, uplifting connections from the start.” These workers cut the length of transition time by being proactive, and in doing so, “reap the benefits: rapid productivity, innovation, higher engagement, and lower risk of departure.”
Here are some proactive ways to ensure your transition is a speedy one:
Be in the know
Why were you hired for this role? Which of your strengths did the hiring manager pinpoint as an asset for the role? You don’t know? Ask! While you may think you were promoted because of your depth of experience, your boss may have hired you for your “spark” and ability to lead a team. Knowing this key information helps to manage expectations, both yours and your boss’s.
Learn the culture
Are you the boomer newcomer joining a team of millennials? Are you making the transition from retail to IT? Whatever the situation, taking a pause to evaluate your new surroundings and the culture of the employees will pay dividends in identifying where you’re up to speed and where you may need to fill in the gaps. Lingo, processes, product knowledge—these are learnable skills; developing them helps the transition go smoother and faster.
Play to your real strengths
This is a crucial concept. Discovering your natural strengths and abilities (and identifying areas where you could improve) is a boon to transitioning quickly in a new role. This self-knowledge can be gleaned from personalized results of the Highlands Ability Battery (HAB), an objective human assessment tool. Dr. Dori Stiles, a certified HAB professional and career consultant, states, “By knowing your natural personal style, your approach to solving problems, your optimal work environment, and your most efficient means of learning and communicating, you can accelerate the organization’s understanding of you and your understanding of an organization’s culture. You can be on the lookout for the degree to which your natural gifts and style fit in—both from the organization’s standpoint and from yours.”
Make it known
Once you know your strengths, let others know. Don’t shy away from expressing what your professional style and natural abilities are to your boss, colleagues, and direct reports. The fastest way to accomplish this is to be direct: look for opportunities or set up a meeting, one on one or in a group setting, to express how you think you’ll be most effective in your role. You can make it a dialogue by asking for feedback, as well. Another means to accomplish this is to apply yourself daily in situations where your natural abilities shine organically.
Push beyond your comfort zone
We all have strengths and weaknesses and styles that are unique to us, but this isn’t static. Dr. Stiles continues, “You can learn to flex out of your style. When you are starting a new position, you want to know how much of your environment will put you in or out of your comfort zone so you know where to focus your energy.”
Transition Like a Pro: Find Success Quickly in Your New Role
The Highlands Ability Battery offers powerful, insightful information for professionals. Just as HAB results can help you identify best-fit roles for your career, so too can they be used to shorten the time it takes to transition into a new role or integrate with a new company or team. Learn more about the HAB today and start experiencing positive results in your career.
